Who will end up where?
What happens if this team loses and that team wins, or vice versa, or any other combination of outcomes?
The NBA has provided the following primer:
Entering Tuesday’s action, 12 of the 17 games left on the schedule have the potential to affect playoff seedings.
Here is a look at some of what remains undecided with the playoffs set to start on Saturday.
The Spurs, Clippers and Rockets are all tied for the second-best record in the West at 55-26 with one game to play. San Antonio controls the race for the second seed: If the Spurs defeat the Pelicans on Wednesday in New Orleans, they will earn the spot behind the top-seeded Warriors and win the Southwest Division title. San Antonio also clinches the No. 2 seed if the Clippers lose to the host Suns on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and the Rockets lose to the visiting Jazz on Wednesday.
The Spurs, however, can also finish third, fifth or sixth, with the last scenario playing out if they lose to the Pelicans, Houston wins and the Grizzlies (54-27) beat the visiting Pacers on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) to move into fifth. Memphis will be either the fifth or sixth seed.
Houston, like San Antonio, can finish second, third, fifth or sixth. A Rockets win and Spurs loss would make Houston the second see and the Southwest champion. The Clippers, meanwhile, need a victory and losses by both San Antonio and Houston to grab the No. 2 spot. Los Angeles can also finish third or fifth but not fourth, which Northwest Division champion Portland has already secured.
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Two games won’t erase the brilliant seasons turned in by the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook and the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis. They will, however, determine which team plays Golden State in the first round of the playoffs, and which team heads home.
This particular scenario isn’t complicated. New Orleans (44-37) and Oklahoma City (44-37) are tied in the standings. Each has one game left, with the Pelicans hosting the Spurs and the Thunder visiting the Timberwolves. New Orleans owns the tiebreaker, having won the season series (3-1). Win, and Monty Williams’ crew is in. A loss coupled with a Thunder win over Minnesota, and Westbrook and Co. move on to play Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
New Orleans has beaten San Antonio twice in three tries this season, but the Spurs, winners of 11 straight games, will be playing for the second seed in the West. Oklahoma City is 3-0 against Minnesota.
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Chicago (49-32) and Toronto (48-32) won’t be playing each other in the first round, and maybe that’s a good thing for the Raptors, who lost all four games to the Bulls this season. What the teams are playing for is the No. 3 seed in the East and a date with the No. 6 Bucks.
If Toronto and Chicago finish tied, the Raptors will earn the third spot by virtue of being a division champion. That means the Raptors can clinch the third seed if they win their final two games (at Boston on Tuesday and home against Charlotte on Wednesday on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET) or if the Bulls lose their one remaining game (home against Atlanta on Wednesday) and Toronto splits its two. The Bulls land in third if they win and Toronto loses once, or if the Raptors lose twice.
Whichever team finishes fourth will play the Wizards in the first round. Chicago, which split four games with Washington this season, lost to the Wizards in the first round last year. Toronto is 3-0 against the Wizards this season.
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Boston (38-42) on Monday became the seventh East team to clinch a playoff spot, but whether it will be seeded No. 7 or No. 8 is to be determined. The Celtics will finish seventh if they win one of their two remaining games (home against Toronto on Tuesday and at Milwaukee on Wednesday) or if Indiana (37-43) loses one if its two (home against Washington on Tuesday and at Memphis on Wednesday). The Pacers can still snag seventh if they win twice and Boston loses twice, bumping the Celtics to eighth.
Brooklyn (37-44) and Miami (36-45) join Boston and Indiana in the mix for the eighth spot. The Nets have two scenarios for making the playoffs: They win their season finale against visiting Orlando on Wednesday and the Pacers lose at least once, or Indiana loses twice and the Heat loses at Philadelphia on Wednesday in its finale. Miami gets in if it beats the 76ers, the Nets lose to the Magic and the Pacers lose twice.